TL;DR: This post is about the importance of showing gratitude to the people, experiences, and rewards that we accumulate through life’s journey. Celebrate your students’ cultural celebrations. Find out the “why” of the traditions behind the celebration. Teaching Gratitude It’s Thanksgiving season. I love hosting Thanksgiving meals with family. I have learned over the years that gratitude is one of … Read More
What Do High-Performing School Teams Embrace?
TL;DR: High-performing schools use the talents, strengths, and knowledge of their staff to continue to improve and grow. Progress should be monitored with various scoreboards to see if the efforts for improvement are effective. High-performing schools embrace a mindset that focuses on what could or should be different, rather than hoping for improved outcomes. There are two types of schools. School … Read More
Moving From Self-Care to Collective Care
TL;DR: While self-care is important, it has become a way of shifting the responsibility, whilst putting more work on the shoulders of already overwhelmed educators. Mutual aid is collective coordination to meet each other’s needs. Collective care removes the responsibility from the shoulders of individual teachers and shifts the onus to the school, district, and educators as a collective group. … Read More
Gifted Strategies Are Just Better Teaching
TL;DR: Using strategies that support gifted students can support all students in your classroom. While at the Teach Better conference, I attended several sessions that would work well for gifted students, including using Depth of Knowledge and the Grid Method as well as finding ways for students to look at math creatively. Gifted Strategies Are Just Good Teaching These are … Read More
Show 96: Bonding a Classroom as a Team through Service Projects
Bret Dockter is an incredible educator and it is very apparent why he is the 2022 North Dakota Teacher of the Year. He is focused completely on the students having the best experience possible and turning their energies outward. Each year his sixth grade students dedicate their time, energy, and lessons towards a common service learning project. In This Episode … Read More